Power
by Outcast-Loser
Summary: Ichigo needs Power to protect others; Ishida needs power to protect himself frim Ichigo. implied Yaoi--HichiIshi IchiIshi
1. Chapter 1

Ishida cut the bandages with his teeth and tucked the edge into one of the layers. He hoped that if his hand healed well that night, then he would be able to go to school the next day. School...the thought of it brought a smile to Ishida's lips. Finally, an excuse to forget all of his troubles and go into this false reality. At least he wouldn't be troubled with Hollows anymore, but then again...

...Hollows have a way of finding him.

oO0Oo

Ishida packed up his things into his pack before flinching his hand. His folder came open and fell, throwing all of his papers on the floor. Ishida sighed and got up to get his things when a pair of arms came out from before him and began to help regroup the papers.

Ichigo neatly placed the papers in Ishida's hands before turning around.

"Uh, I-Is it true? What Inoue-Chan said?" Ichigo asked uncertainly.

"Its none of your business, Kurosaki." Ishida spat out. He turned and started walking again when Ichigo grabbed his bandaged hand. "I told you!" Ishida shouted, jerking his hand out of Ichigo's grasp. Ichigo hesitated before speaking up again.

"But it is my business! If anything happened to you on that trip to soul society, then it's my fault! I dragged you there with me! At least let me help you!" Ichigo reasoned. Ishida, however, didn't buy it.

"It's not your fault! Okay?! I went to go and save Rukia--you had nothing to do with it! I wasn't weak then for you to worry about me! And I'm not weak now so leave me alone!" Ishida shouted, loosing his cool. Ichigo was taken aback by the sudden outburst and froze. Ishida started on his way without looking back. Everyone from their class seemed to be giving him weird looks for yelling at Ichigo like that.

oO0Oo

He was attacked by a hollow that evening. His father, a full-outcaste Quincy had come and saved him--at a price. Either regain his Quincy Powers--or Never speak to Ichigo, and any other shinigami in that case. Ishida had gone home after that, running; he had a tough decision--wait!? He didn't even like Ichigo! So why was he thinking so hard about this decision?

Why was leaving Ichigo so hard?

Ishida rested his head on his pillow, trying to empty his mind when he felt an immense spiritual pressure nearby. It couldn't have been a shinigami because it was so condensed and a shinigami likes to warn off hollows. But it couldn't be a hollow because hollows have no control of their spiritual pressure. He got up and checked out the window to find A shinigami dressed hollow? What the hell was this?

Ishida locked his door. hopefully Ichigo or any other shinigami would kill it in a few minutes, right? He went back and sat down. He felt he should at least apologize to Ichigo, who had tried to help him. He wondered why he was always pushing the orange haired teen away from him when they had a lot in common. Ishida paused, sensing, feeling, finding...finally his hand caught the reiatsu, or spiritual thread, of Ichigo. Only thing was it was tattered...  
...and black. Ishida got up instantly, running out the door only to get pushed back in by a pale white hand.

"Now look who I got here! Just the 'Quincy I was lookn' fer!'" Ishida opened his eyes to a hollow-shinigami. No, the strange thing was that it was Kurosaki--Kurosaki was a hollow?

"Gah--who the hell are you?" Ishida choked out. The hand that was around his neck tightened as it lifted him off his feet. Ishida coughed, eyes cracked open to find a faint smile. He couldn't tell if it was a smirk or smile since his glasses had fallen off at the sudden shove.

"Ah! I haven't properly introduced myself, have I?! The names Hichigo Kurosaki! I'm Ichigo's inner hollow!"

"W-What?!"

"Not that bright as he thought, are ya'?" Hichigo stated. His smile seemed to fade but grew three times a second later. "My name is the clever mashing of 'hollow' and 'Ichigo', see?" Hichigo burst out in laughter, shaking the powerless man. He tossed Ishida upon his own bed and climbed over him. "I just have a little something I wanted ta' do with ya, so behave!"

Ishida shook, trembling in an emotion so alien that it just had to be fear. HE couldn't move or speak--Hichigo took advantage of the powerless man. Ishida simply couldn't think straight. Why? Why was this happening?

oO0Oo

The room was extremely large and barren; It was a training area. The walls where made of a substance harder than stone, yet whiter than pearls. Ishida made his way into this very room, finding the figure, his father, across it.

"I see, so you have finally decided?"

"Y-Yes. I will break off every tie to the Shinigami, soul society, and Kurosaki Ichigo."


	2. Chapter 2

Ishida wasn't in school

He hadn't been attending for a whole month now. No one had really noticed the absence of the seemingly transparent pupil, especially since he hardly spoke out loud, or to anyone in that matter. Ichigo noticed. Each day he would glance to the second row, his eyes roaming from Orihime's seat to Sado's and right too Ishida. He would get angry at himself, remembering what Ishida had last told him:

_"And I'm not weak now, so leave me alone!"_

Ichigo shook his head, ruffling his already messy orange hair. He smiled to himself in false reassurance that the Quincy would be fine all on his own. If there was a hollow, he would kill it. If there was an incident and Ishida got hurt...

"What the Hell!" Ichigo shouted, standing up from his seat; the chair fell sideways, hitting the floor in a loud clash. Everyone stared at the mad-man, the former Ichigo Kurosaki. Ichigo panted, angry at the fact that his mind continuously went to the worst possible explanations for Ishida's absence.

Or was it the thought of something actually happening that angered him?

Ichigo was confused beyond doubt--what was going on with him?! There was a simple and logical solution to all of this: see Ishida. Once he saw that the Quincy was safe and sound, he wouldn't worry and thus not have to think about him as much. It was full-proof!

Ichigo ran out of the classroom, discarding the fallen chair as nothing less than an excuse to leave. "Don't feel good--be back for homework...!" Ichigo shouted, dragging his bag over his shoulder as he burst out the door.

.oO0Oo.

Ishida lay on his bed. His mind was full of curious thoughts and things so strange he couldn't have been Ishida. He was thinking so much that his thoughts collided into a strange concoction of hollows, Ichigo, and--

no...

Ishida shook his head. He wouldn't think about it. Bad enough he had to always be thinking of him but he had to get stronger. He had to regain his power. After all, power leads back to his destiny, and his destiny would have to be fulfilled. Power, of all the thing in reach, was the only thing Ishida could actually obtain. And then after Hichigo's appearance...It was the only thing Ishida wanted; Power.

_Power..._

Such a word wasn't big enough for it's true meaning. It was in the eye of every Shinigami, every Espada, Every Hollow. It should have been gold plated, embossed in diamonds and hidden in a cave in the middle of the earth... Power kills; Power is killed for. Power is evil, yet even the good seek it...

Ishida's thoughts became one final question. Every fiber of his energy was being spent trying, but failing, to answer that one question:

Is it worth it?

Ishida shook his head, body responding before mind. It wasn't worth it. He will always be a Quincy, He will always be a human. He would never be a power grabbing minion for someone else, much less his deranged father. He had his original powers back, but what was power? He was almost killed by shinigami, almost killed by hollows...

What power did he have to start with?

Ishida got up when a knock on the door startled his thoughts. He made his way to the door and opened it, only to try and slam it. Ichigo grabbed the door and forced it open. Ishida shook, frightened for a split second. "What do you want?" He asked, voice hardening.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you at school." Ichigo asked, slightly embarrassed at the intrusion.

"It's none of your concern. Now go back from where you came from."

_"What did I say about talking to me that way?"_ Ishida shook, memory not fading._" You're powerless right now, aren't you? So I can do whatever I want..."_

"GET AWAY FROIM ME!" Ishida shouted, shoving Ichigo away. Ichigo was stunned for a moment before responding.

"Ishida! what happened!" Ichigo shouted, reaching out to help Ishida.

"I SAID GET OUT! DON'T TOUCH ME!" Ishida opened his eyes, tears streaming down his pale cheeks. Ichigo gulped, unsure of what was happening. "G-Get out!" Ishida shouted, pushing Ichigo. Once Ichigo was at the door, Ishida gave one strong shove and slammed the door. He slid down the back of the door, face buried in his knees.

_Power. We all want it, in one form or another. In the end of the day, whether we side with the light or in the darkness, we have to live with our decisions. Will we be the same person tomorrow? Or will our quest for power lead us astray?_

Will we let others help us, or will we loose ourselves in the scour for power?


	3. Chapter 3

"You're quite the sight, Ichigo Kurosaki." Echoed a voice from afar, and Ichigo froze in his steps, his breath halted and his heart raced. The last time he had heard that serene, cool voice, it was yelling at him to get out, with a pain laced tone. Ichigo couldn't bring himself to look up, couldn't bring himself to meet those deep sapphire eyes without seeing that day replay in his mind, his hollow's echoing voice.

_"You should have seen the look on his face, kingy, when I did those things to him!"_

Ichigo shudders and closes his eyes, regulates his breathing and then his heart returns to normal. He turns towards the various plateaus and bluffs that litter the training ground beneath the Urahara Shoten. There, close to the gate he knows will lead him to Hueco Mundo, sits Uryuu Ishida with his Quincy outfit, fingers resting against the mid-section of his spectacles.

"Uryuu" Ichigo says, though he doubts the Quincy will actually hear it. His heart is drumming hard against his ears and for some strange reason the thought of running towards him and grabbing him, explaining, demanding for answers isn't his first instinct; instead he thinks of running towards the Quincy, using his shunpo to reach the bespectacled teen and embracing him, telling him it's ok and not his fault but his, Ichigo's, his own.

"It's been so long and the best you can think of is standing there and staring?" Uryuu says casually and smirks even, leaping off the grand chunk of rock. He lands gracefully as always on the dirt ground and takes the few steps to close the gap between himself and the Shinigami. He has long forgotten the ordeal, or seems to have forgotten it.

Ichigo, however, cannot dismiss it.

"Listen, Ishida, I…" Ichigo began and halted in his explanation at the dull ache within his chest, within his mind.

**"Ah, so you think he'll forgive us?"** His hollow smirks and licks his lips. **"Ah, yes… it's those thoughts again, oh how they make me,"** a chortle, and then he continues,**" hunger for that taste once more"** Ichigo feels disgusted, repulsed, and it might have shown on his features for the Quincy next words are carefully spoken.

"I'm sorry… for everything, really." Uryuu says slowly, uncertainly, and Ichigo wants to laugh at this. Uryuu is apologizing-but for what?

"you're a piece of work, ya' know that?" Ichigo chuckles and looks up at the slightly blushing Uryuu. "You're apologizing to me…isn't supposed to be the other way around?"

"Well…" Uryuu start but finds himself at a loss of words.

"Listen, Ishida, I…" Ichigo releases a billow of breath, "I know…about what _he_ did." Ichigo whispers and feels the atmosphere thicken around the two.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Uryuu says coldly and turns away. Ichigo's heart skips a beat and without thinking he's running after the Quincy.

"Dammit Ishida!" Ichigo growls and then he's pushing Uryuu against one of the bluffs. Uryuu groans as his back hit's a rock that's protruding from the cliff. Uryuu glares at Ichigo and raises his arm, blue particles dripping down from his wrist. Ichigo lets go of the Quincy but stays at a close proximity in case he tries to run off. "Just listen to me for once!"

Damn.

Now there's no where to run.

No more doors to close.

No place to hide.

Uryuu puffs his cheeks and turns his head; though there is no more signs of the Quincy trying to flee or fight back, Ichigo remains on guard.

"This whole time, my stupid Inner Hollow has been wreaking havoc on my body, to my mind, and little by little…he started driving me insane." Ichigo admits with a sigh. He looks towards a couple of broken boulders instead at Uryuu. "It was getting harder and harder to control him and every now and then I would wake up in some weird place, or end up somewhere or doing something I have no recollection of.

"I woke up in an alley not far from your house. My head was throbbing like crazy and I was…" Here Ichigo makes an exasperated gesture with his hands, as if trying to convey his message signally. "I was…'aroused' I suppose you can say." Ichigo turns a nice shade of red and closes his eyes with a low sigh. "I didn't know what had happened, but when I was laying there in the alley in the dead of night, hard and aching and tired, I kept getting these sort of Images of…you…

"I didn't know what had happened. All I knew was that I needed you so damn badly, but there was something in my head… and it wasn't letting me do anything-I couldn't think right, I couldn't breath right, and it took me a few minutes to realize what it was.

"It was loathing, guilt…" Ichigo paused and sighed. "All I knew was that I-my hollow…it didn't matter then who it was in control. I did something stupid, reckless, and…I was afraid that I had hurt you." Ichigo confessed. "I ran all the way home and stayed locked in for the whole day and He kept taunting me, claiming that he knew something and I wanted to know but he'd only laugh and stay silent.

"And then came that day when I passed by your place and you…started screaming and crying at me…I knew I had really done something. I ran to Shinji and his band of weirdoes and in my training they made go within myself to fight my hollow and he was winning. And then he told me what he did" Here Ichigo pauses and looks at Uryuu dead in the eye, a far off look in his bronze irises. Uryuu couldn't bring himself to break their locked gazes, the look intense.

"I got so mad…I trashed him and when he laid on the ground bleeding, he started laughing and explicitly started telling me every little thing he did. If it weren't for old man Zangetsu, I would've driven my sword through the bastards chest." Ichigo chuckles lightly.

"Why are you telling me this?" Uryuu whispers and Ichigo takes the few steps that separate him from the Quincy.

"I want to know if you would forgive me…" Ichigo whispers and he presses Uryuu against the cliff, head bowed. "Because It didn't matter if it was me, or my Hollow…or even Kon in my body. The body retains it's desires, and my hollow knows those wishes that I even hide from myself…" Ichigo turned his head and Uryuu noted the darkening blush on the Shinigami's cheeks.

In his mind he can't help but think that maybe, just maybe…

…this counts as a confession.

Uryuu sighs and feels his resolve slowly break away. The anger he had taught himself to harbor and gain strength from is depleted, replaced now by something lighter, more airy.

"How can I not forgive you, you idiot." Uryuu whispers and Ichigo smiles and looks up at him. "I only ask for one thing in return." Uryuu continues, after a few moments of silence.

_"Get stronger to protect those that you love. Anger is only a temporary source of strength. I will get stronger, with you beside me. I know now that there is no forgiving and forgetting, only moving on and learning. I will get stronger-for both our sakes. No longer will I cower away; and no more will you have to fight alone for I will always be beside you. _

_Live to fight another day, and I shall be beside you. _

_Just promise me, promise…_

_You will never give up."_

And as they charged into the porthole, Uryuu turned and locked eyes with Ichigo. A smile tugged at the duo's lips and they ran in, comrades, brothers in arms, friends…

…two young fools in love, only trying to gain enough strength to protect the other.

_"Yes._

_You make me feel weak, yet give me more power. I just want this solitary promise. Say it. _

_Yes._

_This way, Kurosaki Ichigo, I will forgive you."_

* * *

AN: People demanded it, I gave it to y'all, Chapter three. Honestly, I felt too guilty leaving it at only the second part ^^; Hope you enjoyed!_  
_


End file.
